Bailey Shoemaker reacts to going viral for slow play 'yips' at Augusta

EVANS, Ga. — Bailey Shoemaker calls it the yips. Back in January, Shoemaker couldn’t hit a 7-iron on the range without taking ages to pull the trigger.

Her first event back after surgery was a dual match in the desert, and she froze over every shot. Head coach Justin Silverstein asked his support staff whether they should take her to the first big tournament of the spring. The verdict: It's getting better, she needs to go play.

By the time Shoemaker got to the Augusta National Women’s Amateur, she’d notched five consecutive top-10 finishes. But the yips, well, they came back with a vengeance as the pressure grew. On the par-3 eighth tee at Champions Retreat on Wednesday, Golf Channel aired a tee shot that took seven half-swings and waggles that added up to well over a full minute over the ball.

Golf twitter exploded. Shoemaker’s slow play went viral, with @mensgrill69’s post getting more 2 million views. The fact the caption of the video highlighted the announcer’s “This is part of her routine” quote, certainly didn’t help the situation.